Jim Steeg was hired in early 1979 as the NFL’s vice president of special events, a wide-ranging gig that included overseeing the physical setup of the draft. It was a pivotal moment: The following year, to revamp what had been a relatively unattended, entirely untelevised, decidedly unspecial affair, the league held its 1980 edition in a cavernous midtown Manhattan hotel ballroom that once served as an indoor swimming pool. More than 750 fans filled a wraparound balcony — previously the pool deck — and a new network named ESPN broadcast live from the floor below.
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